Following the departure of Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen, Seán McGirr was named as the new creative director of the house.
A relatively unknown name in the fashion industry McGirr will step into the spotlight – most likely with his debut collection at Fashion Week this coming February. Here is everything we know about him so far.
Seán McGirr and Lee McQueen had the same professor
McGirr is a 35-year-old Irish-born London-based designer. He graduated from Central Saint Martins’ MA Fashion course in 2014, which means both McGirr and the house’s founder Lee Alexander McQueen were taught by the same professor – the late esteemed Louise Wilson.
He’s previously worked with fashion titan Christophe Lemaire
He has a slew of behind-the-scenes experience at different outposts throughout the fashion industry. Most recently he worked at JW Anderson heading up the house’s ready-to-wear. Before his stint at JW Anderson, he worked at Dries van Noten and Burberry. Perhaps most notably on his CV he also worked at Uniqlo under the leadership of Christophe Lemaire.
He used to be a magazine stylist
Unlike many big names in the industry, McGirr didn’t go straight into one of the big fashion houses, following his time at Central Saint Martins. Prior to designing, he worked in both Paris and Tokyo for Vogue Hommes as a stylist.
His announcement marks an all-male lineup at Kering
Following his appointment, some voiced on social media that the announcement meant that all of Kering’s fashion houses were now led by white men. In comparison, at LVMH there are four women who hold top creative positions including Maria Grazia Chiuri at Dior and Camille Miceli at Pucci, along with Stella McCartney and Phoebe Philo who lead their namesake brands.
